So You Love Me, Huh?
by telmeastory
Summary: Timmy is off in a new state pursuing his graduate degree. Life has not been the easiest, but a piece from his past is about to return. Turns out he saved her. WARNING: dark story.
Timmy sighed as his head dropped into his hands. He was relaxing in his room after another long day. Grad School was really starting to get to him. Sure, it was nice to be studying stuff he enjoyed so much, but the hours and the stress, that he could do without.

It also didn't help that he was going into a field most people didn't really understand. Timmy, being the helpful person he was, had decided he liked working in higher education. As such, he was in grad school working to go into higher education administration. When most people heard this, their initial response was to ask if he was going to be a professor. Each time he would patiently explain that no, he was going more into things like academic advising, organization advising, student services. This explanation generally drew blank stared from his friends and family, but they would always nod politely.

Timmy had just finished school near Dimmsdale last May and had gotten into a Master's program in Texas which he had started back in August. Now, standing around after a trip home, he was preparing to jump back into the grind here in January. His program still included doing research and classes, but he was involved in advising Greek Life too. That had become a beast all in itself. It was a daily challenge that he enjoyed, but of course the hours really put a strain on him. It was always fun to see the student's reactions when he told them he didn't get a winter break like them. Ah well, he loved what he did.

Of course, this was just the current state of Timmy's life. At 24, he had seen more in his young years than most people would imagine humanly possible. Thinking back over his last few years always made Timmy cringe a bit. He had taken to always carrying a pocket knife in his back pocket and spent his days twitching nervously at sounds behind his back.

Timmy thought back on his own Greek Life experience when he had gone through rush during his college days. The guys had told them this was one of the hardest things he would ever go through and if he could survive it, he could survive anything. Timmy had smirked at the thought, which led the Pledge trainer to single Timmy out for extra harsh treatment. Timmy had put on a stone cold face and bore the brunt of it stoically. It had shocked everyone in his class except Timmy. Like he thought, this "Hardest thing ever" was nothing compared to what he had been through.

Now sitting in his room, Timmy just reflected on what it was he was doing with his life now. After a long day, 15 hours just preparing for the Spring Recruitment period starting tomorrow, Timmy just wanted to sleep. It was only 11pm. Perhaps he could get in a good 6 hours of sleep before he had to get up.

Unfortunately for him, that was far easier said than done.

As soon as Timmy's head hit the pillow, he faded into the darkness as sleep overtook him.

With a shriek, Timmy woke up. He could feel his body drenched in a cold sweat. He could feel the grimy sheets sticking to him as he sat up. The nightmare was already fading, but it still left him shivering. He glanced over at the clock. It said it was 1:21am. He smiled. It was a new record. Maybe he should try again? There was still plenty of time for him to doze off again…

…And fall back into that same dark place he was last time, seeing that same thing in his mind, ripping himself into awareness yet again. Perhaps it would just be better to get up and find something else to do for now. He had a few hobbies which could easily engage or distract him for a few hours. Some even helped him relax.

Timmy had found life like this for the past seven years. Certain…events in his life had led to darker days. As such, sleep was always fleeting. Sometimes he would go a week with less than an hour a night, only to collapse when his body literally couldn't stand. Those times, the dreams didn't come. He was too tired to even dream. Unfortunately, it was the best sleep he could find anymore. Even sleep aids hadn't helped. The nightmares would wake him from those. And as he got older, managing so few hours each night became less and less possible. Timmy was tough, but life was really starting to show.

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Timmy had finished his Saturday with minimal troubles. The day had started well enough, if a bit cold. The wind out here was nothing to joke about, so managing recruitment under those conditions was always…interesting to say the least. By the end of the day, however, things had gone reasonably well. They only had to remove one guy who decided showing up drunk was a good idea and only two girls lost their heels. Of course that didn't make the day go any slower. About 3 in the afternoon, he had gone to visit the Dean of Students with some terrible news. A Member of the community had been killed in a car accident on their way back to campus. This was followed by a long day of calling Headquarters, fielding phone calls form the media and parents, and meeting with student leaders to arrange for different services to be ready. Counseling services was already there and Timmy knew he would need to keep his phone close just in case. He would be on call tonight for everyone's sake.

Of course that wasn't what he needed right now. He needed a bit of an escape. Form students, from work, from stress. Just a place and way to forget. Of course he had discovered that forgetting was one of the things he did not do very well. But he was going to try a different approach tonight.

As he arrived back in his apartment, Timmy grabbed a bottle of scotch and a glass. As he stepped into the door of his kitchen, he looked down to consider the glass. That wasn't what he really needed. He wanted to feel every last drop burn on the way down and the glass just meant measuring so he could feel bad later. He set the glass down on the counter before shrugging on his pea coat, flipped up the collar, and sauntered onto his deck. Being on the first floor seemed to scare most of the residents as they avoided their decks like the plague, apparently not wanting anyone to know a person lived there. Timmy didn't care. It would take a hell of a lot for a burglar to scare him.

As timmy collapsed into the chair on the edge of his deck, he pulled the lid off of the bottle and took a slow, small pull of the firey liquid. It felt good as it flowed down, warming him up a bit. Maybe tonight wouldn't be so bad. He sat staring across the lawn into the small lake beside his apartment complex. He really did have a great view. And it was 9pm on a Saturday night, so his drinking wouldn't be too out of place. There were plenty of College students running around. If he got lucky, he might even find a few to join him.

Just as Timmy went to take another sip from the bottle, his phone lit up. 'Well, it begins already' he thought to himself. He stood up and went inside to answer the phone. It was a conversation with one of the chapter presidents. They wanted to set up a vigil in memory of the student. After discussing the idea, Timmy agreed to bring it up with the staff the next day to see where things could go. He quietly shut his phone and walked out on the porch just in time to see a group of girls walking quickly away from his balcony giggling. That didn't look good.

As he took stock of his surroundings, Timmy noted that the bottle was gone and the girls were trying to escape rather quickly. Shoving his cell phone in his coat pocket, he vaulted over the edge of his balcony and gave chase. Not that he cared too much, but that whole bottle of scotch cost him about $60. Hell if he wasn't going to get more than a sip out of it. He ran after them calling.

"Hey now, wait a minute. That isn't very nice ladies." The giggling grew louder and they suddenly split in different directions. Timmy took off after the nearest two who turned and ran directly toward the lake. As they came near the edge, he called after them again.

"Hey, be careful. That area isn't very safe!"

As if he had planned it, there was suddenly the sound of screaming as someone slipped. He watched as one of the girls fell flat on her ass and into the water. It probably would have hurt if she hadn't already been drunk. Timmy didn't think twice, throwing off his jacket and shoes. He tossed the jacket to her friend who was staring dumbly at the spot she had gone down.

"Hold this. I'll be back."

While no great swimmer, Timmy was more fir than many people would have given him credit for. He plunged into the water just in time to realize how cold it actually was outside and that the water was even cooler. There was a reason he had on a wool coat.

Shaking that thought from his mind, he swam over to the girl who had somehow floated out into the middle of the lake. She wasn't moving, but at least she was floating on her back enough that it seemed she could breathe. Timmy carefully wrapped his arm around her waist and began to paddle back toward the shore. He could feel her body already being ice cold. Apparently she'd had quite a bit to drink before helping the others steal his bottle.

As he reached the shore, Timmy stopped to gently pull the woman carefully up the shore. Her other friends had gathered on the shore near there having heard the splashing. They offered some confused yet concerned looks. It seemed that things were going in a direction they had not anticipated.

Struggling from his own shivers, Timmy turned to the others.

"So can one of you take her h-h-home?" He shivered through.

"Not really. We don't know where she lives." One of the more sober girls offered. The others began to appear a bit more coherent.

"Oh. Well since you're her friends, can you get her s-somewhere w-warm?" He wrapped his arms around himself trying to conserve warmth. This was getting him nowhere fast. He just wanted to go dry off and change.

"Uhhh…well not really. None of us know who she is." Another one of the friends offered.

"What?" Timmy stared dumbfounded by this news. "Well they why were you all h-hanging out?"

"We met her at a club. She was a load of fun and we all decided to come back this way. While we were walking by your apartment, you left to answer a phone. She said she thought she knew you and it would be fun to take your drink. Said you would think it was a joke." The girl who spoke looked down at her feet blankly.

"Well…then…ugh." Timmy turned back to the woman lying on the ground. He turned to the one girl nearest the water and snatched his coat and bottle from her. As he wrapped the coat around the woman, he carefully picked her up in his arms.

"Look, go home. I'll take care of her and make sure she gets home. You all look like you need some sleep anyway." As he said this, he turned and quickly walked back to his apartment. Who on earth here knew him and would think stealing his alcohol would be a good idea. He didn't have good light, but he was pretty sure he didn't know this person. Ugh, at least he could let her warm up and get some sleep. Figured at least one of them needed to sleep, and since he couldn't…

He carried her through the door and sat him on the bed in his bedroom. Not really knowing if he should, he slipped her soaked clothes off and threw them in the washer, his own following shortly. He grabbed a towel and dried the poor girl up as much as he could before carefully putting one of his t-shirts and a pair of shorts on her. As he did, he heard the washer finishing and turned the light on to find some dryer sheets before throwing everything in the dryer.

When he came back into the room, he decided to get a good look at this person who claimed to know him. The first thing that jumped out was the hair. It was a vibrant red which reminded him of his past. As he studied her face, he also noted that she was a bit older than the typical college girl. While he would not say she looked old, she didn't look as naive and childish as they did. He carefully pressed her eye open with his fingers to make sure she was alright. As he did, he saw those eyes and a realization hit him.

The eyes were pink. And pink eyes were…well, rare didn't really begin to describe it. Add in the red hair and he knew exactly who was before him. It was his evil ex babysitter, Vicki Valentine. How quaint, the demon woman who had tried to torture him in his youth was now sitting here after being saved by him.

Well, it only seemed fair. All she had done is what had given him the strength to be here today after all.

With that last thought, Timmy moved back out into his living room where he collapsed on the couch and faded into his dreams. But this time, the final thoughts were of those pink eyes and red hair.

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Vicki woke with the hangover from hell. She could feel her head throbbing and her ass hurt as well. She rolled over to see a glass of water waiting for her on the nightstand. 'Well that was nice of me to leave for myself' Vicki thought as she reached for the glass. As she did, she began to take stock of more than the water. She felt her damp hair fan out on the black pillow case beneath her head. She felt the blue comforter around her.

Wait, blue comforter? Hers was black. But if that was the case.

Vicki racked her brain, trying to remember the night before. Unfortunately after the first several drinks, things began to get fuzzy. She recalled meeting some nice college girls and them offering to party with her. After that, just being really cold. She wasn't sure what had happened, but since she was lying here in someone's, not her own, bed, that didn't speak highly of her actions.

Then she noticed what she was wearing. She had on a man's t-shirt. It was more than big enough to cover her slender frame. And there were a pair of short too. Unfortunately, there was no underwear. Another negative sign about drunk Vicki's actions.

Moaning slightly as she lifted herself off the matress, Vicki noticed that she was along in the room. She wondered what that was all about, but first she wanted to go explore. There were no pictures or other really identifying marks in the bedroom and an exploration of the bathroom revealed the same. Well this may be trickier than she had originally planned. She cautiously opened the door to the bedroom, unsure of what to expect. Hearing nothing outside, Vicki ventured out into the hallway before making her way to stand in the living room. That was where she saw the guy lying on the couch. He was lying on his back with his arms crossed over his chest. He was lying there in just boxers so she took a minute to take him in.

He was slightly taller than her, maybe 5'10" or 11". He had brunette hair and a nice firm jaw. As Vicki noted the muscles in his chest and a nice set of abs, she decided to forgive drunk Vicki. At least she had good taste if nothing else. Her eyes paused on the pink boxers. It seemed odd, but not exactly out of place. The man lying there seemed to make them work.

Then, almost out of habit, Vicki walked over and sat on the edge of the couch. She was so caught up in staring at the man before her, she barely took stock of her own actions. As she did, she rested her hand on his knee and this brought a smile to her sleeping prince.

That was when she saw it. With the smile, all was revealed. This sleeping person before her was the Twerp!

"Twerp!"

She almost said it more in shock than anger. How could this be? And did she really spend the night…like that? As Vicki stared dumbly, Timmy began to toss and wake from his slumber. Smacking his lips as he came fully awake, he smiled at the woman staring down at him. Then, after a moment of realization, he jumped and pulled himself into the far corner of the couch as far from her as possible.

"Oh, hi Vicki. Ummm…sorry about that. Uhhh…How are you?" He stumbled over his words, a bit lost on what to say and embarrassed on her seeing him like this.

"What? Oh, umm, fine." She had to shake the thoughts from her head. This was the Twerp she had just been oogling. And now she was confused. She had woken up in the bed in his clothes, but he was out here on the couch in just boxers. Did they…or did they not. She decided to try and find out. "So…about last night…"

Here Timmy let out a small laugh. "Yeah, about that. Your clothes are in the dryer."

"In the dryer?"

"Yeah, next time I would suggest taking them off before trying to go for a dip. Skinny dipping always seemed more your speed before. And you look like you could certainly pull it off."

"Watch it Twerp." She huffed at him, getting back into her evil babysitter glaring. When all he did was grin back without any semblance of fear, Vicki felt confused. Timmy knew what he had said. To be fair, he had discovered how good she looked last night. He had known it when he pulled her from the water and learned even more so when he stripped her to keep her from freezing. But none of that had mattered. It was her hair and eyes that had captivated him. Heck, it was her in general that captivated him.

"Sorry Vicki. But it's the truth." He said it gently, not breaking her gaze. She felt confused. What had happened to the Twerp. He had always been a nice guy, but now he didn't tremble at her. Not that she minded. It was really nice to talk to someone and they not cower in fear. But she had always been toughest on him and here he was acting like it was nothing. Staring at his face, she suddenly felt drawn to say something different.

"I'm sorry Timmy." At this he looked taken aback. So she went on, "I know, I know, since when would I say s-"

He cut her off. "You called me Timmy?"

"What? No. I mean…well…I did?" This time it was her turn to look confused. Timmy just smiled at her and stretched.

"Well, that was the best night's sleep I have had in years." She gave him a questioning look at this line of thought, so he dove on. "After that tumble you took into the water last night, I bet you want a shower. Let me grab you a towel and you can grab your clothes. I am sorry for taking them off of you like that, but I didn't want you to freeze." At this he stood up and began to stroll past her. She reached out and caught his arm. His kindness was nice and kindness in her life was not something she was used to.

"It's ok, I understand." He turned to walk off, thinking that was the end of the conversation. When she continued to hold his arm, he turned back to face her. "Timmy, why are you being so nice to me?"

He looked at her in all seriousness. "Vicki, no matter how long it has been, you mean a great deal to me. I would not have been there to save you last night if it hadn't been for you."

With that, he took his arm from hers and went to the closet. She sat for another moment in silence before shaking her head and going off to get her clothes.

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Vicki gave her hair one last pass with the towel before deciding it wasn't worth it and just dropping it. She threw the towel over a towel rack and pulled on her clothes. While she enjoyed having her clothes back, she almost missed Timmy's shirt already.

"Ugh, stop it girl. This is ridiculous." She said to herself. As she walked out of the bathroom, she could smell bacon cooking. She heard the sizzling as she neared the kitchen. Timmy was standing there, now wearing a pair of jeans that showed off his ass and a skin tight long sleeve shirt. He looked delicious.

'Ok, stop that now. This is the Twerp.' She thought, leaning against the door way. As he finished cooking, he turned to face her. The smile stretched to his face as he saw her.

"I made bacon. I hope that's alright?" He held it up. When she nodded, he went to move past her into the living room. As he stepped forward, she placed her arm across his path.

"What did you mean when you said you wouldn't have been there if not for me?"

He stood stock still when her question came out. Vicki had been focusing on that during her entire shower. It had been the sweetest and most terrifying thing anyone had ever said to her. She needed to know more. After a moment of silence, Timmy offered her a pleading glance.

"Food's getting cold Vicki?"

"Let it get cold."

"We should sit and eat, we had a busy night."

"Why can't you just tell me that one thing? I wake up in the bed of a kid I babysat for wearing his clothes. He tells me he save me from drowning and then drops a bomb like you not being here if not for me?" She could feel the hardness in her own voice. She dropped her arms and her voice.

"Please Timmy? That is, I think, both the nicest and scariest thing anyone has ever told me."

Seeing her shoulders slump, Timmy knew he needed to make a decision. He took a deep breath and let out a long, slow sigh.

"Tell you what Vicki, come eat with me and tell me about what you have been doing and I promise that when we are done I will tell you. Ok?"

Looking into his eyes for the first time, Vicki saw determination. Then, as if on cue, her stomach growled. She offered him a sheepish smile.

"It seems my stomach agrees."

The two sat down to enjoy a quiet breakfast filled with Timmy dragging every last fact of her life out of her. She told him about getting into investing and being able to live quite comfortably off of the income. She told him about moving out here when her family had disowned her. He cringed at that one. She talked about not really feeling like she fit in too many places and knowing her personality made being friends hard. It ended up being a sad story, she realized as they were finishing dinner. Feeling herself on the verge of tears, the cold hearted Vicki disappeared and she offered him her wet eyes.

"See Timmy, this is why I need to know."

He let out another sigh. The time had come. He needed to share a story he hadn't told anyone in years. The last time he had shared it, a trained counselor had laughed at him. But this was Vicki. She wouldn't laugh. This Vicki…she needed to hear it almost as much as he suddenly realized he needed to tell it.

"Vicki, let's go sit in the living room. It is a long story, so we might as well get comfy."

She just nodded, so he gently placed his arms around her shoulders and steered her toward the couch as she tried to contain her sobbing.

"Vicki, when you watched me, I thought life was bad. I thought things were miserable because you were around. You were cruel, hard, and mean. You tried to drive me insane and did everything in your power to anger me and get me in trouble. It was only once you stopped babysitting me that I realized you were the only person ever really there for me.

"When you stopped babysitting me, I dove deeper into my studies. Turned out I was really smart too. Got the chance to go to a special school for us smarty-pants. Last two years of high school, but we had to live there. It was kind of nice to meet other people who were as alone as me. Or at least that's what I thought at the time. I decided to try my hand at soccer while I was there and took to it like a fish to water. I was really good. Made the team both years. And got lots of attention. Colleges and even a pro team or two were coming to see me play. That first year was great."

He stopped, preparing for the next part. "Unfortunately not everything could be good. You know how…'kind' I am as everyone says. Well Chester got caught up in some stuff in a bad way. He and his dad got caught up in some drug ring shit. Well Chester hadn't talked to me since middle school, but when he called…well I couldn't turn him down. He said he was trying to get out, but he needed some help. Naturally I said sure."

He paused, watching her for some sort of reaction. She seemed to realize this and just placed her hand on his shoulder. He looked down at his hands and went on.

"Well, the following year was bad. We started by just running some small drugs. No kids or anything, but we were still running them to dealers. And who knew where those dealers were pedaling. Well, naturally Chester's contacts didn't keep their promise. We just got dragged deeper in. This led to not only drugs, but violence. It was not a happy place. I am not proud in any way shape or form of those months except for having stood by Chester. Then things got worse."

Vicki let out a small gasp. Picturing the Twerp being violent and anywhere near drugs already seemed shocking, but to hear it got worse…

"Well, one night Chester and I were out walking. We were strolling down a street after a late night when a van pulled up beside us. Before we ever had a chance to react, four guys jumped out and beat us. They had brass knuckles, one had a bat, and one had razors."

He tugged at his shirt sleeves and in that instant Vicki could only guess what they were hiding. He was wearing the shirt not for looks but to protect her.

"As they beat us, the bagged our heads and shoved us into the back of the van. With our wrists and ankles tied, there was nothing we could do. We got thrown around a bit as the van travelled. When it finally stopped, we were dragged out and put on our knees before having the bags removed. It was sight for terror. The big boss was there. I won't say who for your sake, but he was standing there waving his gun back and forth. He went on this long rant about how much we had cost him. We were trouble makers, blah blah blah. He worked himself up a lot. And all we could do was watch. Then-"

Here, Timmy trailed off. As Vicki looked over, she could see emotions she had never seen Timmy show before. There were tears in his eyes and a look of terror that not even she had ever managed to inspire. Without thinking, Vicki wrapped her arms around his chest, hugging him tight. Her move seemed to have surprised him because he gasped. After a sniffle or two, he hugged her back. With another deep breath, he went on.

"Then he turned the gun on Chester. As I screamed, he unloaded on poo Chester."

Here Timmy broke down uncontrollably. "I literally watched my friend's head explode." This was so quiet that Vicki wasn't sure she had heard it. More than that, she didn't know if she wanted to hear it. This was her Twerp. What the hell had happened?

"Then he turned the gun on me. He held it in my face and I could feel the sweat dripping down my entire body as I stared into that barrel. I closed my eyes and waited. Death hadn't been what I was expecting. But what came next…well let's just say I wonder still if I might have a guardian angel. The gun clicked. He had used the rest of his bullets on Chester. After cursing at himself, he spun the gun around and pistol whipped me to knock me out. I woke up the next morning in a ditch with dried blood on my head."

He looked down at her face. She was now brimming with tears. This was his tough babysitter Vicki Valentine and he was making her cry. Well he was too far in to stop now.

"Before you ask, no I did not go to the police and no I did not tell anyone. I didn't know the where and they would certainly get to me long before the police could get them. I bottled all this up. I went back to school, albeit a bit more hollow than before, and I went back to soccer. I finished school. But the nightmares came in. For a week after, I didn't sleep. Even now, I generally don't sleep more than 2-3 hours a night." 'Except for last night' he thought.

"And things kind of started to look up again. Pouring myself into soccer got me a scholarship to go play soccer at Dimmsdale State. They finished the season before ranked 5th in the NCAA, so it was an incredible chance. I was thrilled. I worked hard all summer and showed up for camp. Coach got me into the practice routine quickly. Up at 6am for 2 hours of fitness training, breakfast, 4 hours in the gym, lunch, 4 hours on the field, dinner, 2 hours in study hours, then a final hour of some sort of random exercise like yoga or tai chi to help us cool down. It was insane and distracting. But when life gets good, it seems to go bad for me."

He prepared to enter his next steps as she held her breath. What he had already shared had been so much, what else could there be?

"Well, we reached the end of week one. I was the new hot shot on the team, but I backed it up. Coach was already having me do work with the starting line-up as the sweeper on the defensive line. This didn't go over too well with some of the veteran players, so they started taking their shots at me. One was particularly nasty. I went to kick the ball and one of them kicked me in the knee. My leg snapped and bent, but in the reverse of a normal direction for a knee to bend. It was bad. I couldn't even stand to walk off the field. They rushed me to the hospital where they shoved my knee back into place. Learned that I didn't tear anything, but every single ligament and tendon in my knee had hyperextended. The doctor told me it was a new one to them. They said I could probably put on the brace and maybe play out the season or give up soccer and hopefully still be able to walk across the stage at graduation. It was a new low and when combined with the pain, I turned to pain killers. It was bad. My teammates abandoned me and I was no longer that little star athlete that the school cared about quite as much."

Here he suddenly turned and smiled at her. She studied his face in return, looking confused. When he saw this he went on.

"Well, there was something that pushed me to get my life back on track. I kept hearing this voice in the back of my head. It was a voice from my past reminding me of who I was. It was there shouting, 'Hey Twerp, what the hell do you think you are doing? Don't make me come straighten you out.'"

Here he paused to hug her. As he pulled back, he smiled. "Thank you Vicki. You always were there for me in one way or another. It took me some time to realize it and by then I wished I'd had the real thing to tell."

He went back to his story. "After I went through all of that, I got connected with a counseling team. It was suggested to me and I thought it might be a good idea. I went in to chat with the counselor and we met a few times. At our third meeting, I decided to share what I told you just now. The counselor seemed to think I was ridiculous. He laughed me right out of his office, telling me there was no way someone my age and with my brains could have gone through something like that.

"Well you can imagine the effect that had on me. I always have to have a weapon on me. I sit in corners whenever possible. My family pushed me away in the midst of all this and most of my friends think I am just being odd since they don't know the whole story. I still don't sleep and my night terrors wake me from heavily medicated sleep. I constantly look over my shoulder and if someone taps me on the shoulder there is a very good chance I might react by slitting their throat. And yet…"

He trailed off, pulling away from her. She felt bad, wondering if she had done something wrong. Suddenly he turned and smiled at her.

…"And yet, last night I left my knife in my night stand to sleep out here naked. More than that, I slept for more than5 hours for the first time in forever. And I didn't wake in a sweat or panic, just looking at the most beautiful pair of pink eyes I have ever seen."

Vicki snorted here. "Ok Twerp, getting corny even for you. Besides, how many pair of Pink eyes have you seen?"

"Only one. Fell in love with them and quit looking for more." Timmy paused as he said this. It slipped out and he had not meant for it to. His eyes wide in shock, he saw Vicki pull away from him. As she stared at him silently with her wide eyes, Timmy blushed. He jumped to his feet and ran to his bedroom.

Vicki shook herself from that state of shock. That was not at all what she had expected to hear. She had always been so mean to the Twerp. She had pushed him and punished him. She was cruel. But he had still been so nice and sweet. Even yesterday when he had literally saved her and in more ways than he thought. As she considered all this and considered him, a smile came to her face. She stood up and went to follow him to his bedroom. She knocked on the door and when she heard a voice say to come in, she slowly opened the door and smiled at the Twerp.

"So you love me, huh?"

He looked up at her from beneath his brunette hair. "Vicki, I…well…look, if you want to ignore that, feel free to. Thank you for listening to me."

As he left off, she came over and sat down beside him on the bed.

"Twerp, you told your tale, and you know a bit about me. Now you get to listen. See, last night when I went out drinking, I was planning to drink enough to make sure I didn't wake up. Life was bad for me too and only one person was ever nice to me. I was so mean to anyone and everyone, but this idiot gave me the time of day. I always thought he was cute, but never really thought of more. And then he wasn't in my life anymore. My family pushed me away and I never really had any friends. So last night I decided I was going to drink myself into oblivion. Apparently I was doing a pretty good job of it myself until a certain Twerp decided saving me from the freezing water was worth his time. Not sure why he did that. I'm was even more confused when I learned that he knew who I was."

She sighed, noticing that he was staring down at his hands in his lap. She reached over and grabbed one, pulling it to her face. As she placed the palm against her cheek, she looked and waited for his eyes to meet her.

"Twerp. Timmy. The only reason I am here right now is because that nice boy who I would never admit to anyone else that I cared about loved me. And the fact is that I love him too. He makes me feel safe and human and I love that."

Here she leaned in and gently placed a soft kiss on his lips, pulling back quickly. Blushing outrageously, she went to stand, but his hand grabbed hers and pulled her back. She found herself wrapped securely in his arms as his lips met hers once again. As they let their lips come together, they discovered how easy their pain was to let go in that instant. His pain was carried away when she was there and his love made all of her frustration go away. Nothing else mattered more than to hold and love one another and in that kiss, they both knew it was all they had ever wanted.

And it would be all they ever wanted from then on.

As Timmy pulled away from the kiss with Vicki's lips chasing after hers, he smiled down into her grinning face.

"So you love me, huh?"

At this they both dissolved into laughter. Fate had led them to save one another across time and now in a different place. It was funny how that worked.


End file.
